


BitterSweet

by Codename_Number3



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Awkward Flirting, Bakery and Coffee Shop, Cute, Flirting, Fluff, Happy Ending, I Tried, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Kuroo Tetsurou in Love, Kuroo Tetsurou is Bad at Feelings, M/M, Revised Version, Slow Burn, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings, free food, it kinda sucks, strawberry shortcake - Freeform, you can tell that i gave up near the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:33:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26662996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Codename_Number3/pseuds/Codename_Number3
Summary: Kuroo has been giving a certain blond, glasses guy an in-the-house treat to gain his interest
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Yachi Hitoka/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 45
Collections: Luna & Noir: KuroTsuki Fest 2020





	BitterSweet

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt #17
> 
> some of you might have read the previous version and in the notes i talked about how i wasn't happy with it and so i decided to fix it :)

Tetsurou carefully eyed the couple, taking precautions to avoid any sudden movements, not wanting to disturb the scene in front of him. Hands were gestured and voices were raised. A once quiet and serene early morning breakfast was turned into an all out screaming battle. Today was one of Tetsurou’s lucky days, as he hadn’t seen a sight as entertaining as this in quite some time.

His elbow propped itself up on the freshly cleaned counter top and he leaned into his hand, allowing himself to be fully immersed in the performance. It was hard to tell what they were fighting about with them so far back in the cafe, but from what Tetsurou could gather the man had committed an act so terrible that an iced coffee stained shirt was needed as a repercussion. With Tetsurou’s undivided attention on the young couple, it was hard for him to notice the caffeine deprived blond in front of him. 

Kei tried being patient. But the recent quarter change had brought about a shift in his schedule. Now, he was waking up at this ungodly hour to attend a class that he didn’t even want to take. It was necessary for his major he had been told. All the other classes were full by the time he got around to it. He remembered specifically glaring at the 2:15 slot with the knowledge that Kogenegawa had somehow acquired the much desired class. The thing that pissed him off the most was that he wasn’t even a history major, who knows why he was even taking the class.

So when he was in desperate need of coffee and came across this hole in the wall cafe, there was no question as to whether or not he would go in.

“Black coffee,” Kei bluntly stated, taking out his wallet without missing a beat.

The rather rude intrusion had caused Tetsurou’s hand to slip, allowing his forehead to make contact with the wood counter. He could feel the pulsing from above his eyebrows and sheepishly began to rub at it, hoping to cover his face. It wouldn’t be the first time he had embarrassed himself in front of a customer, but this time it was someone around his age. And when he finally looked up to meet eyes with the witness of his slip up, Tetsurou couldn’t help but notice how ridiculously attractive he was. 

“I would love to have dinner with you.”

Tetsurou almost melted right there and then in realization of what he had just said out loud. If he played his cards right, he could leave this conversation cool and composed. “Yes grandma, dinner sounds great,” he shouted up the stairs leading up to the empty apartment as he scratched his neck.

Hazel eyes looked up once again to be met with indifference. It should’ve been perceived as a good thing, the customer didn’t hold much as a reaction to the previous events. But that made Tetsurou all the more nervous. The slam of the door brought him back to his senses, making a dash for the coffee machine. Taking more than one occasional glance at the blond on the other side of the counter. He was completely immersed in his phone, ignoring the outside world with the protection of black headphones. Tetsurou felt a pang of guilt for taking so long with his coffee when noticing the deep shades of purple below his eyes. 

It wasn’t until Kei turned around that Tetsurou noticed what a mess the couple had left him. He almost let out a groan of frustration at the thought of having to clean it up. Apparently his expression was enough to earn a light chuckle from the customer. It was faint, and Tetsurou probably wouldn’t have heard it if not for their close proximity. But he did. And it was the best sound that had ever graced his ears.

“Um, here’s your order.” Tetsurou handed him the cup that was ready to go, and tried his hardest to make contact in the tradeoff. Sadly, his attempt was left in vain. But all hope was not lost, because when the customer left, his phone stayed behind with Tetsurou.

Tetsurou didn’t pay any attention to it until after the much dreaded clean up. He came across the device while daydreaming, he was so sure that he had seen the blond before. The facial structures were pretty similar, but what set him off were his golden eyes hidden behind clear cut glasses. As the once clean cloth wiped across the table, Tetsurou saw the black cased phone placed on the counter. There had only been a limited amount of customers this early in the morning and he was almost positive that the screaming couple hadn’t stood on common ground long enough for one to even take out their phone. 

It gave him something to look forward to. Knowing that by the end of the day he would see the golden eyed boy once again. The thought was also the cause of numerous incidents as the day progressed and Tetsurou had let out a breath of relief when remembering that his grandparents were out of town. He could already hear the lecturing from a mile away and cleaned the tables with much more precision than before. 

He checked the clock as the last remaining customers cleared out. They didn’t look very successful, but with the location being so close to the university the cafe was a popular hangout joint for the students. Tetsurou began to lock things up, chairs hanging off of tables as he went to the back for a final check. He left the food on display for now, wanting to wait till the last minute to throw some out. It hurt him to do so, but there were certain limitations to how long a baked good was allowed to be set out. A light knock that he had been waiting for could be heard in the distance, and Tetsurou had to stop himself from sprinting to the door. He took a moment to himself, allowing deep breaths to occupy and leave his lungs. After the incident this morning, Tetsurou felt determined to engrave a good impression of himself into the blond’s mind. With a newfound sense of confidence he walked toward the door, seeing the blond through the glass.

“Hey there,” Tetsurou purred, and in the heat of the moment took regrettable action. Realizing after that he still hadn’t opened the door.

Kei walked into the humble area with only one coherent thought in his head,  _ did he just finger gun. _

“You left your phone here, right?”

It took Kei a moment to respond, taking the time to get over the initial shock from before. “Yes. Black phone case.”

Tetsurou dug into the pocket of the worn out apron to hand him the said device. Before the transaction could be made, a low but hearty growl could be heard. He looked up to see that a crimson red blush had overcome the blond. A light chuckle escaped his throat and Tetsurou returned the phone to it’s rightful owner. 

“Hungry?”

A quick nod was given and Kei was ready to dash out of the cafe and never return but was stopped by the sight of a pink delicacy. Tetsurou caught his gaze and grinned, moving behind the counter.

“You know if you wanted to order something, all you had to do was ask.”

It had been a long day for Kei, he was in and out of classes while running solely on the black coffee he had retrieved earlier that day. The absence of his phone was only acknowledged in the library when his roommate’s girlfriend had asked him to look at a puppy photo she had sent. It was hard for him to focus after that, trying to retrace his steps while studying did not prove to be effective and Kei ended up running around campus to check all the previously attended lecture halls. The growl that had erupted from his stomach was a painfully embarrassing reminder that the only form of food he had consumed that day was half of a granola bar. The other half being left a victim to one of Hinata’s spikes.

So when Kei was being offered a strawberry shortcake by a debatably attractive man, he simply couldn’t resist. He took a seat in a bright red booth by the window while the barista continued to close everything up for the night.

“Aren’t you guys closed,” Kei questioned before taking a bite out of the dessert.

A voice could be heard from behind the counter, but was unable to be matched to a face as the barista was currently checking the last of the locks. “We are, but I figured it would be a bit rude of me to ask you to leave and it seemed like your stomach had already given you a good enough reason to stay. Plus,” he paused to allow himself to stand up, “Now I can ask why you have a dinosaur sticker hidden in your phone case.”

With Tetsurou’s new ability to see over the counter once getting up from his former crouching position, he was able to see another blush come across the blond’s face. And he decided that he really liked making him blush. 

“I swear I didn’t go through your phone or anything like that, it kind of just slipped out if you’ll believe it.”

When met with silence, Tetsurou decided to continue cleaning the place up. After thoroughly sweeping the counters he decided to be bold, and sat directly across from the customer.

“I’m Kuroo Tetsurou,” he stated with a grin, extending his hand out to the blond.

His reluctance did not come as a surprise, it was rather expected but Tetsurou hoped that the strawberry shortcake had opened him up a bit. Kei met his eyes and pulled out his wallet, but was interrupted.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s on the house.”

An uncertain look was bestowed upon Kei as he placed his wallet into his pocket, “What’s the catch?”

His uncertainty only grew as Tetsurou calmly lent back into the booth. “No catch, your name would be nice but that’s up to you. I was also about to throw some of those out, my grandparents are pretty strict on that health code thing I’ve been hearing about.”

The thought of throwing out perfectly good food angered Kei. The strawberry shortcake tasted just fine, delicious actually. The best he’s ever tasted if he was being honest. It wasn’t too sweet like the ones at the gas station near his apartment, and there was just enough strawberry too. Some of it even incorporated into the cream. And the way that it melted in his mouth was just heavenly. 

Tetsurou took note of how when the blond was in deep thought there was the tiniest furrow above his left eyebrow. It was cute. 

“Penny for your thoughts?”

The words caused Kei to leave whatever food daze he was in. “You shouldn’t throw out perfectly good food.”

Tetsurou would’ve replied but felt that the blond had more to say. “I’m not going to pay for this.”

The statement almost made him laugh, but Tetsurou settled for a light smirk. “Did you not get the memo that it’s free?”

If it were anyone else, Kei would’ve up and left. But this was the person giving him free food, food that he was unable to attain due to his exhausting schedule. So he stayed. He sat there and played with his tainted spoon, already having fulfilled his main desire. They sat in silence for a while until Tetsurou lightly grabbed the plate, waiting for a moment to allow Kei to adjust and delivered it to the sink.

Running water was the only sound that could be heard. It was peaceful. Being a broke college student had a lot of disadvantages, one of them being roommates. Kei lived with three other university students in a condensed apartment. Hinata and Kageyama were always yelling about something, whether it be over video games or pleasure in the bedroom. A bedroom that was right next to his. Yamaguchi was fine but it wouldn’t be out of the question to see him getting dragged into Hinata’s antics. His girlfriend’s common occurrence at their apartment was much appreciated as she would cook them all dinner at least once a week. But he knew that it was inevitable for them to move in together if one of them finally got the courage to ask. And once that happens, Kei was lost on what to do next. He thought about finding another roommate as it would be hard to afford the place without one, but it would be a reach to ask them to deal with the freak duo. And moving in with Yamamguchi and Yachi was out of the question, he understood that the couple needed their privacy. So Kei was stuck with silently hoping that neither would ask the question anytime soon.

The comfortable silence was refreshing, and for a reason that even Kei did not know he pulled out his lecture notes from that day along with his laptop. In the beginning of the year most professors were very lenient and graceful with their work, but with a new quarter all of that had suddenly washed away. A never ending pile of work could be found in his bag and with his usual study time in the library invaded by a missing phone, it was almost suffocating.

Surprisingly, focus came a lot easier than usual. Kei figured that it was because he didn’t have to deal with helping the two idiots with their work every three seconds. He was fully aware that without him neither would be able to keep their volleyball scholarships. But he couldn’t help but to sink into the calm environment. The calm environment that was almost broken by a certain barista peering over his shoulder from behind with a broom in hand. Kei whipped his head around, clearly irritated by the intrusion until seeing the clear concentration on his face.

“Ah, you have Kominato-sensei. Makes sense with the amount of tables you have to do.” After that comment Tetsurou carried on with sweeping the floor.

Kei took time to assess the worker, he did look around Kei’s age. Maybe a couple of years older but it makes sense that he had already attended the university. What didn’t make sense was the work sitting in front of him. 

A thought crossed his mind, but he immediately shut it down. Kei was a smart student, he knew that. And he would rather die than ask for help from a stranger humming the melody from Ouran Highschool Host Club. 

The moon shined brighter as Kei completed more and more work, actively avoiding a certain assignment. It was hard to tell how long he had been sitting there, but he was certain that it didn’t take this long to close up a shop. He turned his head to see the raven haired man cleaning the countertop for what had to be the tenth time.

“You’re letting me stay, why?” The question had come out a tad more aggressive than Kei had intended but the barista didn’t seem to notice.

Tetsurou just lightly shrugged without looking up from the spotless counter, “I didn’t want to disturb you doing schoolwork. I know how hard it can be to meet deadlines.”

“Did you go to Tokyo University?’

His words had more of an affect than expected. Tetsurou paused his actions and Kei could see the whitening of his knuckles around the scrunched up cloth. But despite his body language, Kei received a light smile as he was met with hazel eyes. 

“I did, didn’t get far though.” The topic wasn’t mentioned again, and the air between them had shifted. 

The now awkward silence made it almost impossible to work and Kei felt regret for asking such a delicate question. But he knew of a way to hopefully achieve the once peaceful environment again.

“Is there any chance that you could help me with some of my work?”

It didn’t take much convincing to get the barista sitting beside him. He seemed happy to help, eager even. Kei realized how Tetsurou never failed to puzzle him as the barista was undoubtedly intelligent. Maybe it was past experience with the class, but he was able to breeze through questions that didn’t even look like kanji to Kei. Another interesting characteristic was his voice, in the tranquility of the moment it was soothing. Which differed greatly to how inconsistent it was this morning. 

Tetsurou leaned in closer to point to something on the screen, and he struggled with keeping his breathing balanced. The close proximity that he usually had with most customers was nothing compared to this. There was no counter or cash register separating them, in fact their knees were currently making contact. 

The blond was having more of an impact on him than he would show. Tetsurou could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest and he had to make sure to constantly wipe off the sweat of his palms onto the well worn apron. 

It wasn’t until they had successfully finished the work that the time had been noticed. It was well past closing time, an hour and a half after to be exact. Kei knew that if he didn’t leave now, walking home later into the night would feed into Yamaguchi’s paranoia of something happening to him.

Only a couple words needed to be exchanged as Kei began to pack his things. He was almost out the door until he heard a voice behind him.

“Can I walk you home?”

Kei was ready to answer no, there was no way that he was going to let this stranger know where he lived. No matter how helpful he was tonight. But before he could do so his body betrayed him with a slight nod. 

A calming silence would be expected, but Kei had learned to not expect much when in the presence of Tetsurou. He was going on and on about this book he had read online and the devastating tragedy of finding out that it was no longer printed. Small indications that Kei was still listening were made, the slight “hm” or “ah” kept Tetsurou talking. And Kei had discovered something new. He didn’t just like his voice when it was explaining or discussing a topic that he had interest in, he liked Tetsurou’s voice whenever. Whether it was talking about how to utilize certain websites when doing schoolwork or how he had cried for days after finishing the book in discussion. So he kept him talking, leaving his headphones to rest in his bag.

When they arrived at the selected apartment building Kei found Yamaguchi and Yachi sitting on the steps leading up to the entryway.

“Tsukki!” There was obvious relief in their voices as they got up to embrace Kei. Tetsurou chuckled at the sight of the blond being trapped in a hug, making sure to remember the name revealed to him by the people he could only guess to be his roommates.

Kei was finally able to detangle himself from the couple and could spot tears forming in the eyes of his best friend, “We were so worried! It was so late and you weren’t home yet. You weren’t even answering your phone!”

Their exaggeration was annoying but Kei felt grateful for the concern. He figured that if he was in Yamaguchi’s position the same worries would eventually come upon him too. 

“I think that’s my fault,” Tetsurou admitted sheepishly while waving his hand in greeting, “I turned it on silent during my work hours.”

Now that his presence was recognized Kei was unable to explain himself before the two shared a look which was then followed by squeals of excitement. 

“Oh my god it’s so nice to meet you. I didn’t even know Tsukki had a boyfriend, he never shares anything about his love life with us.” Yachi rushed to Tetsurou’s side before Yamaguchi beat her to it.

They began their rambling and Kei considered letting Tetsurou’s suffering continue but decided against it, not wanting to stay in the cold any longer than he would have to. “Both of you back off. We’re not dating, and it’s none of your business. Now let’s go inside. I'm freezing.”

A familiar, “Sorry Tsukki,” was heard as Kei opened the door leading into the heated building. He took one last glance at the barista, muttering a small, “Thanks,” before shutting the door.

“You’re welcome, Tsukki.”

...

A routine had unknowingly weaved its way into Kei’s schedule. Tetsurou had become a part of his daily life. Providing him with much needed caffeine, baked goods, and guidance in certain classes. Kei visited the cafe as soon as it opened for his usual unpaid order of coffee and once again after closing for a free strawberry shortcake and a sufficient studying sanctuary. He had allowed himself to get used to the peace and quiet compared to the usual rowdiness of his apartment. And after an undesignated amount of time, Tetsurou walked him home. 

“My grandparents are gonna be there in the morning,” Tetsurou carelessly stated.

They were currently on the walk home after finishing an excessive amount of schoolwork. Kei was told earlier that week that the cafe was a family run business when asking how the barista hadn’t been fired yet.

“Anything I should be worried about?” Kei didn’t hold much of an interest in other people’s opinion on him but he had also been freely eating their food once a night for the past week and had no intention of stopping.

It took a moment for Tetsurou to respond, thinking carefully on the question. “Try not to mention the fact that you play volleyball.”

Kei silently urged him to continue, “They just don’t like the sport. There’s not much to it.”

The half-hearted answer was acceptable for now, they had already arrived at their destination so Kei saw no point in continuing the conversation. The two quickly exchanged goodbyes, already knowing that they would see each other again in the morning. When Kei entered the apartment complex Tetsurou looked up to see Yamaguchi peering down on them from the window and flashed him a grin, waving in his direction when an orange haired figure compressed his face against the glass. With all of Kei’s detailed descriptions on how one particular roommate was filled with more energy than his small body could contain, Tetsurou could only assume the flattened face belonged to Hinata. He chuckled lightly at being able to hear Kei’s scoldings, beginning to walk away from the scene. 

The weather was due to turn colder, it was around that time of year. Tetsurou had already begun feeling the effects, the late nights spent assisting the blond in his studies being a fortunate distraction. It felt refreshing. Even though he was usually surrounded by college students it never required anything out of social skills and pouring coffee, he missed being able to contribute something educational. 

A longed sense of warmth greeted him upon entering the cafe again. After checking all the locks one last time he made his way up to the second floor. It was a decent apartment, containing enough room to house Tetsurou along with his grandparents. The life he had dreamt of years ago was already long gone, and even the thought provoked a slight ache in his left knee.

When the morning came Tetsurou made sure to wake up earlier than usual, knowing how disgraceful it would be to not greet his grandparents the second they walked through the doors. He offered to pick them up from the airport but they adamantly refused, insisting on having him open the shop on time. Their arrival had been late, with Kei entering the building first. 

Tetsurou had already started the preparation of his bitter drink. “Earlier than usual. If I didn’t know any better I would say that you’re trying to impress someone.”

“Shut up and give me my coffee.”

“So mean Tsukki.”

“I told you to stop calling me that.”

“Well I wouldn’t have to if you would tell me your name.” Tetsurou received no reply and only moments later his grandparents walked through the door.

His grandfather’s greeting came in the form of an echoing laughter as he wrapped his arms around Tetsurou and lifted him off the ground. Whatever Kei had been expecting, it wasn’t this. The frail and mature pair that he imagined contrasting greatly against the sight before him. Tetsurou failed to mention that his grandfather was strangely muscular for his old age while his grandmother was evidently confident in the body that she managed to keep in a healthy physique, wearing clothing that accentuated her figure.

It wasn’t hard to see where Tetsurou got his flamboyant nature. Kei suddenly felt as if he was invading on the reunion and tried to exit as subtly as possible. He would imagine that his attempt could’ve possibly been successful if not for his towering height. 

“Ah wait, there’s someone I want you to meet.” As Tetsurou pulled him back into the situation Kei took notice of the lipstick stains planted sporadically on his face. 

Kei had never been nervous about first impressions and he wasn’t about to start now. His calm composure remained intact during another secure hug given by Tetsurou’s grandfather and even through the lipstick covered kisses he had received on both cheeks. Tetsurou had introduced him as a regular customer and a friend as to which his grandparents persisted in Kei calling them by their first names, Hirito and Yua. He was able to finally escape their grasps with the valid excuse of class, when they reluctantly let him go. 

When returning later that night he prepared himself, entering with a wet wipe to clean off any red colored marks and wearing an extra jacket for padding. Tetsurou just laughed and told him that they liked to go to sleep early, but not without quickly taking a picture. After the one-sided laughter had died down, they both began their work. Tetsurou was careful to not disturb Kei when placing the accustomed dessert beside him. Knowing how important this assignment was. Neither of them spoke, it wasn’t needed. When the cafe was officially cleaned for the night, Tetsurou joined him in the booth. Sliding into the spot next to Kei. 

The walk home was where Tetsurou began to tell him about his day. Kei would chime in from time to time but was fully content with just listening. He didn’t have much to add to the conversation other than what new object Hinata and Kageyama broke that day. Their cheap furniture not being nearly durable enough for whatever those two ended up doing when Kei was gone. 

“So what’d you think about my grandparents?”

Kei was careful about his answer, “They were very welcoming considering that they had just met me.”

“Yeah,” Tetsurou scratched at the back of his neck. An action that Kei had noticed to be caused by bashfulness or embarrassment. “They can be a lot, but I love ‘em. During my games they were 10x worse.”

“Games?” Neither knew much about the other’s backstory, but it wouldn’t hurt to find out.

“You didn’t think that this rockin’ body was all natural did you?” Whatever interest that Kei had in the topic was lost as Tetsurou flexed his left bicep. The smile that was worn didn’t quite meet his eyes and hazel eyes searched the ground. 

Tetsurou opened his mouth to speak with an unreadable expression when it was immediately clamped shut at the sight of Hinata running towards the pair before being restrained by Kageyama.

“Be cool dumbass.”

Hinata eagerly nodded as they were greeted by Tetsurou. “So you’re Kuroo-san!”

The once unknown expression quickly turned into a shit-eating grin. “Has Tsukki here mentioned me? Maybe he hasn’t stopped talking about me ever since that fateful night. You know if you caught a case of the Kurona-virus all you had to do was say so. Careful, it might be contagious.”

Kei had never felt a greater urge to shove his shoe down someone’s throat. 

...

He doesn’t know how Yamaguchi acquired Tetsurou’s phone number, but now everyone in his apartment had it. Except Kei. Hinata came barging into his room every night about a funny cat meme that Tetsurou had sent him, and when he complained to the sender about it the day after the barista only sent more. Whenever Kei had tried to ask what Yamaguchi and Tetsurou were talking about neither gave in, feeding into his frustrations. It was no surprise when he came across Yachi and Tetsurou sharing cooking tips, which ended up working to Kei’s advantage with the last couple of weekly dinners tasting a bit more refined than usual. And ever since the number had been spread around between the four Kageyama had been sharing an alarming amount of cacti facts.

The weird relationship that Tetsurou had with his roommates was getting out of hand. During their dinner of the week an extra plate was set in front of the tv, and Kei immediately knew why. Tetsurou had arrived only moments later with dessert, placing the container in their refrigerator.

“What are you doing here?”

Kei had received a small reprimand as Yachi jumped up in an attempt to hit the back of his head. “That’s not how you treat a guest.”

The comment had a terrifying effect on Tetsurou, boosting his overflowing ego. “Yeah Tsukki, I’m a  _ guest _ .”

Before Kei could say anything else the “guest” was tackled by Hinata. Kageyama had followed with a cactus in hand while Yamaguchi helped him up. Kei spotted the rooster hair in the kitchen alongside Yachi preparing Zosui. When the meal was ready there was a surprising addition of mushrooms in the pot. Kei had to stop himself from visibly showing how the ingredient elevated the soup, refusing to feed into Tetsurou’s ego.

They watched a drama since it was Yachi’s turn to choose, and Kei hated every minute of it. The concept of this one being especially inconceivable with the two main characters accidentally living together, but he was able to relate to it on the notion that roommates are a pain in the ass.

“You know it is incredibly rude to not give the guest a tour,” Tetsurou whispered beside him.

His roommates had conveniently left him the seat beside the raven haired boy. There wasn’t much to show of the apartment, it was barely enough space to house all four of them. But if Kei had an opportunity to leave and stop watching the painfully long movie of choice, he would take it. 

“I’m going to show Kuroo-san my room.”

Kei didn’t wait for a reply before getting up. He caught a glimpse of Tetsurou’s shocked expression and smirked. After closing the door Kei allowed himself to relax in his bed, completely ignoring the other’s presence. It had been a long day and he had been day dreaming of a well enjoyed nap throughout his classes. Kei was forced to stay awake, reminding himself that there were still a lot of gray areas when it came to his knowledge about Tetsurou.

“I guess this explains the dinosaur sticker.” Tetsurou was admiring his room, more specifically the amount of dinosaur items that decorated the walls. When his eyes landed on the neatly kept desk, he couldn’t help but to release the laugh that erupted in his throat.

When Kei sat up to see what was the cause of the incessant noise and found Tetsurou holding an open mouthed t-rex head with a pencil sharpener located in it’s esophagus. “Oh man Tsukki this is, this is just great.”

“Don’t call me that.”

The laughter went on for quite some time and just when Kei believed for it to have died down Tetsurou found a pencil in need of sharpening and put the t-rex to use. It was a scruffy and obnoxious laugh that Kei’s ears had the inability to drown out. The laugh was the definition of all things the blond hated, and yet the pure joy it contained made him smile. He reasoned for it to be because of how stupid Tetsurou looked, clutching at his stomach with widened eyes. And when the noise suddenly stopped, Kei found himself disappointed.

Tetsurou was holding a picture frame and released a laugh that declared the topic to be anything but humorous. An undefinable word was muttered underneath his breath, and he put the picture of Kei and Akiteru back on the desk.

“Tsukishima.” The name felt bitter against his ears and the unreadable expression was back.

Kei failed to fight back the yawn that had been rising. “How do you know my last name?”

The possibility of answers tired him even more as Tetsurou took his sweet time in finding the right response. A small grin graced his lips as he lightly pushed Kei on his back, “That’s a story for another day. You should get some rest.”

Exhaustion inevitably won as the door slammed in the background. 

When Kei woke up in the afternoon, grateful for the cancellation of his early morning class, his roommates were seated in the living room eating chocolate themed cupcakes. Remembering the box of desserts that had been brought last night, Kei searched the refrigerator in need for something sweet. The lid slipped off and the chocolate cupcake given to everyone else was nowhere to be found. And Kei found himself blushing at the sight of a distinct strawberry shortcake left exclusively for him.

...

Mounds of schoolwork threatened to drown Kei. His lifeline of caffeine wasn’t enough this time. Apparently Tetsurou had overslept and his grandmother was forced to open the cafe. She was sweet, but unfortunately so was her coffee. The bitter taste that demanded Kei to wake up in the morning was missing, causing him to fall asleep in his first class. He had arrived at the cafe that night with an earful to give the barista, only for him to swallow his words. 

The “CLOSED” sign looked foreign to Kei. After repetitive knocks against the glass he pressed his face against the transparent doors with hands covering both sides of his eyes. It was empty. All the chairs were placed on the tables with their legs facing up and a broom could be spotted in the corner. In that moment he wished that he had accepted his roommate’s continuous offers of Tetsurou’s phone number. After an unaccompanied walk home Kei arrived at the apartment early, ignoring the worried looks from Yachi and Yamaguchi. Tetsurou was probably sick. Yeah, that was it.

The next day was the same, and the day after that, and the day after that. When Kei eventually asked Yua where her grandson was she gave him the same response as last week. Tetsurou’s absence had put him on edge, directly affecting everyone around him. What angered him even more was that Hinata still barged in his room every night, Yamaguchi continued to hide his phone from him, Yachi’s recipes improved more each week, and Kageyama maintained his cacti facts. So when Hinata interrupted his studying like clockwork, Kei promptly grabbed the device out of his hands.

_ Why are you avoiding me? _

_ … _

Three dots inconsistently appeared and reappeared on the screen. The hesitancy reminding him of the time they spent together in his room, the last time Tetsurou had been seen. There was the possibility that it had something to do with Akiteru, and Kei wondered what his brother did that was so bad. He made a mental note to call him later and find out. The three dots disappeared for good, along with the chance of a response. Kei groaned in frustration and handed the phone back to Hinata who quickly disappeared moments after. 

...

Koganegawa was spamming his phone, wondering why he was missing their daily afternoon practice. The texts went ignored as Kei walked into the cafe. After a mild argument with his brother the night before that ended in Akiteru insisting that Kei should talk to Tetsurou about the situation, he decided that was what he was going to do.

It was no surprise when he found the barista behind the counter, flashing a smile at some customers and failing to make foam art. Either Kei went unnoticed or Tetsurou was adamant on ignoring his presence. The latter was proved to be true when their eyes met, and Tetsurou politely excused himself from the register. Hirito took over after that and Kei took a seat, willing to wait for the younger of the three Kuroos.

Ten minutes before he would have to leave for class, Kei journeyed up the stairs with the permission of both house owners. He didn’t bother knocking when finding the desired room. Tetsurou turned around from the seat of his desk, unaware of what to do. Before Kei could begin the scripted scolding, he perceived the posters covering the wall above the twin sized bed. 

“Why didn’t you tell me that you play volleyball?” His calm nature scared him as all the previously felt anger faded away.

Kei observed how the question made Tetsurou grow stiff. “I don’t. Not anymore.” Silence filled the room, Kei refused to talk until Tetsurou until his words were further explained.

“First off, I’m sorry that I’ve been avoiding you. But to be fair it wasn’t easy for me either, I thought of you every time I had to throw out strawberry shortcakes,” when realizing that his joke has not been well received Tetsurou continued, “It was stupid, even for me. After a while I started missing you so I thought of just putting a stop to the whole avoiding thing but I had already started and couldn’t think of a way to talk to you that didn’t end in me getting yelled at, which I’m trying to achieve now.”

The rambling had stopped when Kei took three steps forward. His eyes widened when he realized how truly terrifying their height difference was when sitting down and Tetsurou almost jumped out of his chair. Satisfied that the two were now eye-to-eye.

“Akiteru did nothing wrong. There’s no bad blood between us, I just panicked.”

Kei waited for an explanation that never came and decided to push the conversation forward. “Why?”

“I did play volleyball. And I even ended up playing against your brother. That was the game where I tore my ACL. The scholarship that was supposed to be my free ride through college was pulled and I was forced to quit after my first year.” The information revealed was surprising, but not as much as the collected tone carried throughout his words.

“It seems like you’re over it.”

Tetsurou almost laughed, missing how blunt his words could be. “I am, but my grandparents aren’t. I guess I was scared of them recognizing your brother from the game and resenting you. It would’ve made it hard to ask you out then.”

The indirect confession was played off. Kei waited for Tetsurou to process his own words and laughed at the deep red shade that consumed his entire face. His hands were clawing at the back of his neck but stopped at the sound of the laughter bouncing off the walls. Tetsurou had never heard such a carefree laugh from him and couldn’t help but to join in. He tried to extend the moment as much as possible, scared of what would happen after the laughter ceased.

But it did. The vibrant laughter was suddenly cut off by a pair of lips against his own. It was a bit awkward at first. The action had been so sudden that their teeth made contact against one another. Kei’s hands remained by his side until he felt a pair of arms circle around his waist. Suddenly growing conscious of his placement, Kei attempted to run his hands through his hair. It looked nice in movies, but they didn’t have to deal with Tetsurou’s rooster hair. His hands ended up getting stuck, and he couldn’t help but laugh again.

Tetsurou liked hearing Kei’s laugh, but he loved feeling it against his lips. Eventually they would have to find a way to maneuver his hands out. And soon enough deal with the reaction of Kei’s roommates. But that didn’t matter right now. The moment was theirs. This bittersweet moment.

**Author's Note:**

> i definitely feel a lot more satisfied with this version but of course there are still things that i would change
> 
> i had a great time participating in this fest and the mods are so understanding and kind, they do a lot of hard work so let's give some love to them!
> 
> also follow my writing insta that i made for no reason at all @codename_number3
> 
> thanks for reading<3


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